Even when the economy sucks, I can’t help but find little tokens that I have to pick up, just so I can gift them to my friends. Some of the items I’ve found take it one step further, though: they use the proceeds of each purchase to fund charities across the globe. Take LIGHT GIVES HEAT, for example. Back in May I bought a set of five postcards from her and had them sent directly to a friend who had been having a hard time:

I knew that, being the amazing and forward-thinking woman she is, she’d love them – and that she’d send them to other people that loved them (they ARE postcards) which would spread the gift’s potential even further. And who wouldn’t want to give a virus made of love?

As a bonus, LIGHT GIVES HEAT donates the proceeds from the cards – a hundred percent of them – to Humanitarian Needs in Africa. So even though my gift only cost me seven bucks (seven bucks!) that seven bucks was going to a great cause.

LIGHT GIVES HEAT is currently under construction, but keep an eye on her! She’ll be back soon with more awesome gifts that support worthwhile causes. (In the mean time, check out her previous sales so you can request them later.)

Another Etsy seller whose work I love (even if she wasn’t making a difference) is ZephyrWoods. Ten percent of her profits go to KIVA, which facilitates loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, getting them on their feet while requiring them to be accountable and pay back what they’ve borrowed. To top it off, her jewelry is pretty damned adorable:

So, because I can’t resist a good deal (two pendants, with cords, for $15) I bought one for a friend (shh, she hasn’t gotten it yet!) and one for me:

(Yep, I’m totally adding some selfishness into a post about giving back. Come on, you know you want one too.)

I’m keeping my eye out for more opportunities that invoke the double-whammy of giving. Have you seen any?

Tags: charities, etsy, gifts, Jewelry, Paper Products